


Divide and Conquer

by seademons



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fluff, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-25 04:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4947109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seademons/pseuds/seademons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Oh, I think that I've found myself a cheerleader<br/>She is always right there when I need her</i>
</p><p> </p><p>High school AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hard Plotting

She was the prettiest of his class. Blonde hair and green eyes, part of the cheerleading team, perfect grades and an even more perfect smile. She was one of the most desired girls of the entire school, the one that most girls looked up to, the one everybody wanted to befriend. The one he desperately wished to get closer to. Sure, anybody that talked to her felt like a friend of hers already, in a way. It was strange, really, how she gave them her full attention for a total of two minutes, with bright eyes attentively locked on their faces as they talked to her, asked her for a favor or gave her a compliment. The whole school felt like her friend, knowing full well that they weren’t. It was an optical illusion that skirted too close to reality sometimes, only merging with it for the rest of the cheerleaders. Those must be her true friends, Jessica and Emily and the other girls, but he didn’t like them too much. Maybe because he just liked her the best.

She was talked about a lot, of course, as were the rest of the girls. Her reputation was the strangest of them all, though: people loved her to her face but hated her behind her back. Yet, _she_ was the one being called a two-faced bitch. Ironic, really, but useful. Useful because everyone who talked of her that way instantly got a spot in his hit-list, which ended up too full for its intended purpose. Now the only other two girls who were just as infamous had fitting reputations, with Emily being the mega bitch and Jessica the mega babe. In a binary point of view, the school loved Jessica, hated Emily and didn’t know what to do with Sam.

Someone like her knew of the existence of every single excerpt from both the academic and student bodies, making her the person who knew a little bit about everyone instead of a lot about a selected few. That was the exact reason why he felt so distant from her, despite her sitting two rows in front of him in Calculus and knowing him by name. She knew nearly everyone by name, so that meant nothing, and her seat was relative to other classes, meaning even less. The times he talked to her were few and far in-between, too, ranging from picking up the pencil she dropped in class for her to asking her if she wanted to partner up for a project. Conquering that last one was a real trial every time because her grades and looks made her the El Dorado for everyone who was failing, which, in Calculus, was over half of the class. She also seemed to have a preference for partnering up with those leeches and helping them out instead of choosing him and effortlessly remaining on the honor roll. He hated her selflessness.

After first meeting her, it didn’t take long for him to lose hope in ever becoming someone who mattered to her, someone substantial. He quickly became a hopeless romantic instead, which was ridiculous, just the fucking stupidest. He hated it to no end but couldn’t help it; couldn’t get her out of his head. Or his heart. Her name was carved in it and it hurt like Hell but it was a fruitless effort trying to scrub it off. For as gross as it sounded, he’d need a new heart to fix that. Just the thought of her was enough to fill him with a nauseous longing that stuck around for much too long, never really leaving and only worsening, to the point it drove him to madness. It drove him to consult Hannah about it—or madness at its finest.

He never actually had to openly discuss this with her, though. It didn’t get to that point. Destiny didn’t let him; destiny saved him from that utter embarrassment. It intervened in the most miraculous way he had ever seen, bringing his lost hopes back with only a few words implanted on Hannah’s lips, “Do you think I should join the cheerleaders?” It was the closest he had ever come to witnessing a divine intervention. It felt like one, too. It shocked him. At first he didn’t believe it but as Hannah continued to search his eyes for an answer, it slowly dawned on him. And then it hit him like a train. “Yes!” He shouted. He fucking shouted. It startled her but also made her smile, so he counted that as a victory. “Yes, definitely,” he said afterwards, calmer now, more composed, “it’ll really boost your self-esteem.” She smiled at him, thankful for not being made fun of this time. For receiving actual support this time.

She passed the tryouts without breaking a sweat. All of those years taking ballet were finally worth for something besides stress and calloused toes. She told the rest of the family about it after the official approval and they were surprisingly supportive of it, even Beth congratulated her without ridicule. She later confided in Josh her real thoughts, with emphasis on a couple of pin-pointed cheerleaders, but Hannah looked genuinely happy, so she’d pretend to feel similarly for as long as needed. Josh, on the other hand, was overjoyed. Possibly even more so than Hannah because now he had an insider. Now his eyes were open to the fact that those girls weren’t as untouchable as they seemed. It was possible to close in on them and he had all the intention to.

Hannah was only the beginning—the beginning of something massive that would conquer all. Conquer contentment for his heart, which was really the only thing that mattered. For that, he needed to pick up an old plan from where he had last left it off a good while ago, last semester. A plan involving class president candidate Michael Munroe. The idea behind it was to pretty much befriend the guy, _really_ befriend him, for strategic reasons. For one, Mike was Emily’s current boyfriend, meaning he hung out with the cheerleaders pretty often. For another, he was important. He had free passes into all kinds of VIP parties and connections into every group at school, from the lamest to the most untouchable, the crème de la crème. So if Josh had Michael Munroe call him a friend, he’d be sent straight to the top of the food pyramid, right next to Sam.

The old plan didn’t work because he wasn’t persuasive enough. He gave up too easily and ended up being another pawn in Mike’s game. His own spell had turned on him and made him the one being played. But this time he knew how to win it. This time, he’d be the decisive element in Mike’s campaign. He’d be the one to rig the games in his favor, with nothing short of Mike’s full knowledge. Mike’s full appreciation. Of course, he’d need Hannah’s help and Beth’s cooperation but that could be arranged under the covers.

His plan resumed that next Monday when he saw Mike handing out flyers in the hallways, promoting himself. That was the best moment to get close to him, while he was reaching out to the masses rather than being surrounded by the one percent. So Josh approached him, nonchalantly but purposeful, with a pleasant smile on his face that matched Mike’s very own. “Hey, man,” he said while accepting the flyer and giving it a faux impressed look, “thanks.” Mike beamed with positive energy at the slightest sign of an alliance, of another possible vote. Josh’s smile widened. “Thank _you_ , man,” he said happily, expecting Josh to walk away now, like everybody else, but Josh lingered. While everyone grabbed the flyers without even slowing down to get to their lockers, Josh stopped. He moved closer to the wall and away from the stream of people, standing next to Mike, who seemed pleasantly surprised about it. Score one.

“You know, I voted for you last year,” he lied, with both eyes trained on the flyer in his hands, but feeling Mike’s burning gaze on the side of his face regardless, “and you didn’t disappoint, so.” Their eyes met when he looked up and Mike had the most pleased grin on his lips. He was buying it. “Keep up the good work, man,” he gave Mike a friendly clasp on the shoulder, smiling big, “and I might get the marching band to vote for you, too.” At that, the sparkle in Mike’s eyes multiplied instantly. Score two. “Thank you so much, Josh,” he sounded genuinely grateful, reciprocating the clasp with a back slap, “that’d be _awesome_.” And that was all it took to get Mike noticing him wherever he went.

With the possibility to tip the marching band in his favor, Mike could win this election by a landslide. He knew that. He already had a loyal portion of the school on his side but not enough to have a sure win yet. None of his previous campaigns had ever been popular among the marching band because they were their own supportive group. They despised the cheerleaders and cohorts, meaning that they either didn’t participate in the elections or voted against Mike entirely out of spite. So they could make a substantial difference if Josh decided to help. Well, if _Beth_ decided to help, but Mike didn’t know that. She was the one in the band, not Josh. She, like the rest of them, was biased, but Josh would still talk to her. He would try to make her change her mind. Better yet, he had Hannah on his side in this one, now that she was one of the cheerleaders. She, with all of her soft-spoken charm and twin sister telepathy—a metaphysical tunnel straight into Beth’s brain that could change it all.

He didn’t have to succeed, though. He didn’t have to actually make the marching band vote for Mike, he just needed Mike to _believe_ that he had this power. And that was exactly what happened. Mike thought he was important and started to treat him as such, which made him important. It turned him into that person. So now, whenever the two passed by each other in the hallways or in the cafeteria, Mike would greet him. Loudly, extravagantly and very briefly, like he usually did with all of his more distant friends. It turned people’s heads and brought a growing awareness to who Josh was, who he was becoming. Even Chris started getting noticed just from hanging around him every day. Luckily, he didn’t mind the attention.

What really mattered was that this got to the cheerleaders. He had left such an impression on Mike that his face got turned into a topic of their conversation at some point and Hannah wasn’t even the one to tell him that, no. Jessica got to him before anything happened or remotely started to happen. She grabbed his arm as they began to exit Chemistry three weeks later and pulled him aside, away from the stream but still in view of the crowd. His blood ran cold but he didn’t oppose her. He did nothing. Despite how weird and unimaginable this was, he just stood paralyzed where she wanted him and waited. Waited for her to give him a second command because he wasn’t used to this. She had never acknowledged his existence before and he didn’t know what to do about it. So he continued to do nothing.

As they stood in awkward silence, she glanced around the crowd, searching for someone. Instinctively, he did the same, soon realizing that he didn’t know who they were looking for. Instead of opening his mouth to ask, though, he turned back around to face her, accidentally catching her sending a smile to her right. Or maybe smiling at herself because she saw Mike in that general direction.

“Okay, hey,” she said eventually, turning to look at him. He noticed that she was much shorter up close. And her smile was much nicer up close. “How’s it going?” She fluttered her lashes at him, making a pose with a hand on her hip. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or answer her, so he did both, saying, “Great.” That was probably what she was expecting because her smile widened as she shimmied in contentment. His heart ached with how cute she was. “That’s great,” she spoke airily, taking a step closer and dropping her gaze to his chest. The hand from her hip was replaced on his torso, carding fingers on his plaid shirt, unbuttoned over his stupid Nosferatu t-shirt. “So, you’re friends with Mike, huh?” Her voice was more somber now, almost seductive. His smile started to fade as he nodded in reply. “Well, I have a real deal to make with you, then,” she definitely sounded seductive now, sliding her hand up to his collar and tugging on it, incredibly fucking close to his face, “and I have a feeling you’re gonna like it.” Her low voice disarranged the rhythm of his heartbeats, sending a danger warning to his dick. She was too close; her breath ghosted over his lips and her glossy lipstick smelled of watermelon. He wanted to kiss it off her.

“What’s that?” He managed to say, trying not to sound affected by all of his and not sure if it was working. She smiled wickedly, looking him in the eye. That made his cheeks catch on fire for some reason. “There’s gonna be this really lame party this weekend,” she started and her voice resembled normalcy, or a similar version of her usual tone, “some underground bullshit that nobody cares about. I want you to go and bring Mike with you. If anyone asks, you invited me, too. What do you say?” Her smile was mostly innocent, hinting something not so innocent underneath but with added distance from his face, which gave him room to breathe and think. He was silent for a second, watching her gray eyes urge him on instead of strip him down. It was comforting. “If I say yes, what do I get?” She could be the link between him and Sam; the golden key to his heart. The end of his shameful pining.

At his question, the horny smile returned and her eyes dropped to his lips. She closed the distance between their bodies, lingering less than an inch from his face while raking a hand down his chest, making his breath catch. He swallowed thickly, grabbing her wrist before she reached his belt. The look she gave him was more than just sinful. “Something interesting,” she replied and watermelon consumed him. Their noses were touching, her lips were close but not close enough and her breasts pressed against his chest were starting to feel _too_ nice. He kind of wished she was Sam.

“I want a favor, then,” he sounded just a bit shaky, almost making her laugh, “bring Sam with you to the party.” That earned him some glorious space between them. She stepped back, giving him an incredulous look while immediately putting two and two together. Her grin was mischievous. “Oh, no,” she said slowly but still grinning, “another one.” She looked thrilled, infinitely amused. It made his heart drop. “That’s so cute,” she started, sounding genuine but something inside of him didn’t want to believe her, “but for as much as I love playing matchmaker, I can’t bring her with me. Maybe I can drop her by your place instead? For some alone time, you know.” She gave him a playful look, bouncing her brows once. He blushed again.

That was probably the best he could get out of her, so he accepted. He wanted to ask her for more details about this, like where the party was or how she was getting Sam to his place and if he could trust her, but she just told him they’d talk later in the week. She’d come to him when the time was right. He didn’t exactly like that answer but maybe that was something to worry about later on, as for now he already had a big problem on his plate. A problem related to how in the fuck he’d get Mike to some party he didn’t even know the host of or location. That thought followed him throughout the week, knocking on his frontal lobe between classes and every time he talked to Beth about the band. Every time he started to remotely touch the subject of Michael Munroe and the cheerleaders with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song in the summary is Cheerleader by Omi. This work was actually supposed to be a small prompt that got wildly out of hand like everything else I write. Don't expect a heart-wrenching experience from this, though! It's supposed to be happy and fluffy and patch the hearts of everyone coming from Spiral Down and Back Around. Much, much love to all of you.


	2. Party Time

Jessica got back to him before he could succeed in anything. She sent him a text on Friday with the address, date and time. It caught him off guard for two reasons, one because he didn’t have her number so receiving a text from a stranger with an address was more than just creepy and two because the address was familiar to him. It was Ashley’s. He didn’t know she was throwing a party this weekend. Was he not invited? Maybe Chris just forgot to mention. Either way, Jessica followed that up with another text saying it was her so he added her number to his contacts list. A golden opportunity. He didn’t care to know how she got to him; all that mattered was they had a direct connection now. With that he could ask her the details about the deal with Sam and finally put his mind at ease.

Josh: How is this gonna work out?

Jessica: When the opportunity shows, I don’t know.

Jessica: Go with the flow.

Josh: That doesn’t sound convincing. How can I trust you?

Jessica: You have my number, dipshit. Don’t spread it and I won’t tell the world about your little crushy-crush.

She had a point and a pretty solid one, too. Maybe this would work out. If anything, he could always terrorize her with the threat of giving her number around—not that he would actually do it, though, but the opportunity was real. She basically gave it to him for free, so that must’ve meant something. Commitment. Her commitment with this plan and the fact that they’d go through with it, honor each other’s words. He’d do his part and now he was sure that she’d do hers, too. But about that, he still hadn’t talked to Mike. He had to do it quick because the party was the following day, so instead of going straight to Chris at lunch, he made a dive for the gym first. He was sure to find Mike there or at least someone who knew where he’d be, but he was lucky with the first alternative. Mike was doing push-ups.

“As far as I know, class is over, dude,” he said while approaching the man and taking a seat on the empty mat next to him. Mike laughed a bit, somehow keeping it timed with his breathing and not interrupting the flow. He looked focused in reaching a certain push-up number so Josh fell silent, waiting for him to finish up. He just busied himself with watching the rhythmic movement of Mike’s arms, making the rise and fall of his shoulders and back. Lean waist, wide torso and strong arms. In Josh’s defense, he looked good. The wifebeater hugged him nicely and the gym shorts rounded out his ass to leave nothing for the imagination. Mike was too busy to catch him staring so he took the opportunity to.

“Yeah, I know,” Mike said with a big exhale after reaching his goal, flipping over to sit down, “but I’m a methodic man, what can I do?” They both breathed out a small laugh while passing each other a glance for greeting. “That’s not all bad,” Josh said with a shrug, watching Mike grin in reply, “you might have more similarities with the band than you think.” The comment brought a glint to Mike’s eyes, widening them with hope and greed. Josh had his full attention now. “Did you talk to them?” Mike sounded surprisingly nonchalant for the way his face betrayed that emotion, striking a perfect clash. Josh smiled reassuringly, more at himself for his failure than anything else but Mike obviously didn’t interpret it that way. “Yeah, I mean,” he shrugged, trying to look unfazed and succeeding, “you know how thick headed they can be sometimes but I’m getting there.” Mike nodded understandingly and opened his mouth to say more, probably make another question, so Josh cut him off. He was done with this topic. “Hey, are you going to the party tomorrow?” That made Mike’s brows shoot up in surprise and, Josh would like to believe, his blood run cold.

He was silent for a second, holding that question in the still air. Josh lifted a brow at him, urging him on. A moment passed before something clicked for him, making his face show recognition. “Oh, Ashley’s party?” He sounded perfectly composed somehow, as if he hadn’t just forgotten about it. Josh envied his ability to sound like he was on top of everything all the time. “I don’t know. Are you?” His question seemed genuine, like he really wanted to know Josh’s reply. That was good, that was perfect—if it was really true. “Yeah, man, Ashley’s my friend,” which was the reason why it bugged him so much that she hadn’t invited him or even told him about it, “you should come.” Mike seemed to consider his invitation, nodding a bit, reflective.

Josh was so close. He needed one last comment that would hit Mike home and win the game, something about his campaign and ability to know everyone. Did Jessica call this party “underground bullshit” earlier this week? If that was how she viewed it, then it was probably the same for Mike, too. Josh wondered how underground it was, how underground his friends were. If he was seen like one of them, too. “You know Chris and everyone there, right?” He gave Mike a scrutinizing look that did its job in keeping him on his toes, making him nod. He smiled, in victory rather than menace, finishing his point, “then you know it’s gonna be cool.” Mike’s response was immediate. He agreed with Josh on the spot, looping quick affirmations that got Josh beaming on the inside. He wouldn’t disappoint Jessica now; his part was done. He slapped Mike on the back, making a quick comment about being excited to see him there before leaving for the cafeteria.

He could ask Chris about it. He could ask Chris if he knew of this party and what he thought of it, if Ashley really hadn’t invited him (or maybe neither of them?) or if she passed his invitation over to Chris and he forgot to deliver it. He _could_ but he wasn’t going to. He’d rather wait a few more hours to see it for himself, see Chris dancing in the middle of Ashley’s living room. _Then_ he’d ask him about it. But in case Chris didn’t show, he wouldn’t say a thing. He wouldn’t want to upset his best friend over a secret party that his crush threw without inviting him. She probably had a good reason for that but it wasn’t one of his interests.

In fact, he actually _didn’t_ see Chris there. He didn’t see Ashley either but it was really her house—he had been here before, years before. The furniture and wallpaper had changed, though. It almost felt like an entirely different place. The fact that it was packed with sweaty bodies and bleeding loud music helped the feeling but the moment he smelled pot drifting from the hallway, he knew this was definitely her house. It was badly lit and close and reminded him of all the reasons why he hated parties.

Jessica met up with him by the front door and minutes later Mike joined them, looking surprised to see her. She seemed to like that. Mike greeted them both, making a small remark about the surprise which she laughed at. She made a comment about something unimportant and that was when Josh first wondered if he could leave. If his part of the deal was fulfilled already and he was free to go back home, huddle up in bed and be alone with a movie. He kind of wanted to ask but the two were having a conversation so he didn’t interrupt. Fortunately for him, just as Mike stepped further inside, Jessica turned to face him. Her wide eyes were gleaming satisfaction and her smile could swallow the world. She didn’t need to say a word—his question was answered. He smiled back, bowing jokingly to her before starting to leave. Her happy laugh filled him with a sense of accomplishment that warmed him up.

His sisters were out so there were no awkward questions when he got home. His parents were upstairs, oblivious to what he was doing, which was much the same as always, so he got to his room undisturbed. The single disturbance that wouldn’t leave his mind was if he missed Chris there or if his friend really hadn’t gone. He wanted to know. He didn’t want to _ask_ , he just wanted to know. Out of everyone, he was kind of expecting to see Chris there. He could call him. Not to ask him about it, just to make assumptions. Listen to the background noise, feel the variation in his voice. He called and it took twice the usual time for Chris to pick up. A dead giveaway, if he had ever seen one.

“Hey, dude,” Chris said in the voice he made when trying to cover up nervousness, “what’s up?” There was muffled music in the background and some slurred voices over it, giving the feeling of a closed door or room trying to shut down the noise. Maybe he was upstairs, maybe in Ashley’s room. Josh couldn’t help the smirk on his face, glad that Chris couldn’t see it. “Hey, Cochise. Are you free for a movie or something? I’m bored.” He tried not to let the smirk seep into his words but with Chris’s nervous laugh from the other end, he was good. Chris stammered through his reply and Josh could picture the blush on his face. “I, uh, I can’t really talk right now. Maybe later? I’ll call you.” Bingo.

He called _much_ later, explaining that Ashley told him about this party when it had already started. She invited him over personally, not leaving much room for tag-alongs, which was why he didn’t tell anyone. Josh nodded to himself as Chris rambled on apologies, accepting them without trouble and really just wanting to ask what happened there. He did so the moment Chris gave him a break. The question got his friend stammering again, worsening his curiosity. Did they kiss? He was almost cutting Chris again to ask it when Chris just blurted it out to him. He gasped, Chris fell silent. “Oh, my God,” he said slowly and could imagine Chris fidgeting on the other end, “ _finally_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for a whole lot of Sam in the next chapter.


	3. Transcendental

That weekend was spent texting Chris about _his girl_ and teasing him for more details about the party, which he was reluctant to give but were too cute to hide. Both of them were too cute to hide. Josh was more than happy for him, firing texts faster than ever, pissing him off with too many heart emojis. He was having a nice time, still in bed and so distracted with Chris that he misread the text that Jessica suddenly hit him with. She asked him if he was home and his mind wondered places. Impure places. He replied positively, ignoring Chris for a second. She just said “good” and didn’t text him anymore. That got him thinking.

More than thinking, that got him leaping out of bed and hurrying for the shower. He didn’t know _what_ to expect, so he expected everything. For either the good or the bad, he still needed to be showered and properly dressed. Hair combed, clothes picked and everything engulfed in Acqua Di Gio. He was still kind of dripping when the doorbell rang but other than that, he looked grand. A quick dash for the front door was nothing to dishevel his composure right now. Only who was standing behind that that did it, nearly making his blood pressure drop. It was Sam, of course it’d be her. Jessica had honored her word and it was all to good logic but it still made no sense in his mind. The concept of Sam standing on his porch was a tough one to grasp, despite the circumstances. He nearly forgot to greet her.

“Hey, golden girl, come in.” He spoke softly with a sharp smile, stepping aside to let her pass. She accepted the invitation gladly, giving him a look while walking in. “Golden girl, really?” He closed the door behind her, feeling himself blush and hating his face for it. It made her smile, though. “For all intents and purposes, yeah,” he shrugged, giving her a genuine grin, “am I wrong?” She slitted her eyes at him, holding a glare that, accompanied with pursed lips and a pair of rosy cheeks, was harmless. “Depends,” she said slowly, as if weighing the syllables, “is that a good thing?” His grin widened; she was too cute for her own good. With crossed arms, she stepped around the expensive Egyptian rug, never looking away from him. His eyes followed her. “You get straight A’s in Calculus and you’re the top of the cheer pyramid.” He replied simply, flipping both of palms up in defense. She didn’t abdicate her pointed stare. “I’m the top because I weight the less.” She made a point and squinted at him as if threatening him to comment about it.

He couldn’t. Should he? He bit his lip, feeling his heart skip a beat. “You’re made of radiant cuteness, that’s why you’re the top,” he wanted to say but didn’t. He couldn’t, he absolutely couldn’t. He shook his head at himself, glancing aside to break eye contact instead. It was starting to be too much. “Well, where’s Hannah?” She said suddenly, dropping the playful stance together with his heart. “Hannah?” He almost sounded heartbroken, _almost_. She didn’t seem to notice, just nodded back at him. “She’s at tennis practice.” Sam’s face changed at this new information. She looked awestricken. “She plays tennis? I didn’t know,” her cheeks flushed briefly as she took a glance around, ashamed for some reason, “I guess I should’ve called.”

He wanted to die. His heart was in pieces and he shouldn’t have expected anything else out of this, out of the reason as to why she’d ever drop by. She’d never visit _him_ , they didn’t know each other. She was here for Hannah, of course she’d be, so why was he so upset? He was an idiot. He was the biggest idiot, in fact, and could just drop dead. She was here because Jessica tricked her into visiting Hannah, who clearly had a packed schedule on Sundays. Maybe the cheerleaders in general didn’t know this but Jessica probably did. It wasn’t her fault, either, she was just paying him back. She got him what he asked for so he shouldn’t be this upset. He should’ve seen this one coming.

Somehow that didn’t make him feel better.

“Yeah, sorry,” he shrugged in the most convincingly nonchalant way he knew how, watching her brows wrinkle together in worry, “you can wait for her if you want, though. She’ll be home soon.” She wouldn’t. She’d only come back in four hours, just in time for dinner, but if Sam wanted to wait it out, he’d be more than happy to make her company. So he slipped both hands into his pockets, waiting as she stood there in silence, thinking, considering his offer. He tried not to show any of the turbulent emotions fighting for dominance inside of him while she took her time to answer. “Well, I mean,” she paused for a second, having a subtle burn to her cheeks, “would that be too much trouble? My ride’s gone, so.” She gave him a helpless look and shrug that inflated his heart back in place. All hope rushed back inside his chest with a breath.

“No, not at all! Make yourself at home, dude.” He vaguely gestured at the rest of the house with a hand, cringing in secret at his own choice of words. Notably not one of his best moments but she didn’t seem to mind. If anything, she smiled at it. She bowed playfully at him and he lifted an invisible top hat for her before they both started for one of the arches leading further inside. He stopped right underneath it, turning to face her. Before he could ask her what she’d like to do, though, she beat him to it with another question. “How long will Hannah be exactly? Do you know?” They stood in silence for a second. He could easily lie to her or just say he didn’t know but every cubic inch of his body told him not to, so he didn’t, but chose his words carefully nonetheless. “A couple of hours,” his tone was dismissive, accompanied with a shrug, “we could watch a movie.” He expressed none of the nervousness or excitement that filled him up inside and prided himself for it.

Briefly glancing down at his shirt, her eyes shone with mischief and her lips curled into a small smirk as she poked him in the chest. “How about the Re-Animator, then?” The cheekiness from her voice was reflected on her entire face, making him grin the biggest he had ever before. She was nothing short of perfect and he couldn’t help but fall continuously in love with her, further in with every single word. It got him wondering what life would be like with her as a constant in it, with her showing up at his place every day and watching old horror movies together, making snarky comments about the long credits at the beginning and the goofy blood squirting all over the cast, like having her around was a normal thing. Like hanging out and chatting with her was a normal thing. Yet, there she was, impressed by his dad’s exclusive theater and wide movie collection, with special interest in the reels. If he couldn’t have this forever, then he was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Her comments throughout the movie were impeccable. He usually didn’t like when people talked in the theater but her inputs were short and, while not all clever, just plain funny. That was perfectly fine in his book. She did enjoy it, too, which was another plus. “Herbert shouldn’t have died,” she said as the end credits colored her face black and white, “he was my favorite.” Josh just smiled at her, fighting the urge to throw an arm around her shoulders. She looked as disappointed as he felt the first time watching this. “Then you’ll be happy to know that he didn’t,” he said while leaning closer to her, “because there’s two sequels.” She turned around to look at him with wide eyes, brimming with hope that soon turned into suspicion. She squinted at him again. “Are they good, though? Because this,” she pointed at the screen but with eyes glued on his own, “this was the height of filmmaking. Hard to top it off.” He laughed, nodding in agreement with her. She smiled pleasantly at that. “There’s only one way to find out, I guess.”

“Oh, don’t tell me,” her laugh mingled with the words as she moved up from her seat, “I’d love to binge watch the other two with you but just give me a second to call Hannah first. I’ll be right back.” She gave him a pointed look before sashaying off to the hallway, all of which he watched attentively. She didn’t close the theater doors behind her but disappeared from the archway, so he decided to put the meanwhile to good use. Stretch and change the reel. Or maybe switch to a DVD this time. His father usually had multiple copies of the same classic movies in different medias but he wasn’t sure about the sequel of this one; he’d have to look. Leaving the control booth with the door open, he began rummaging through the boxes and shelves that held his father’s collection.

It didn’t take long for her to show up by the door while he was still lost in wonder and not at all committed to finding the movies. “She’s not answering,” she said with a pout that transcended into her words, making him picture it without having to look, although looking anyway. She leaned on the door frame, watching him from across the room. “That’s because she’s too busy try-harding.” He replied tentatively, slapping both hands on his pants to dust them off. Sam just glared at him, not fully serious but still chidingly. “So did you find the movies or are we doing something else?” She must’ve noticed his lack of commitment and cases in hand but, in his defense, all titles were in alphabetical order. Theoretically, he knew where the other two Re-Animators were, just ended up too distracted to check on their existence. As to answer her question, though, “we can do whatever you want.”

She stood in silence for a moment, in thought. Eyes roaming aimlessly around the room and pursed lips. Pretty, rosy, glossy lips. She moved away from the door frame as he crossed the room toward her, both of them leaving the control booth together. “I don’t know,” she finally said as they left the theater too, “give me a tour?” Her eyes flicked up at him meekly, accompanied with an irrefutable smile that made him want to grab her face and kiss it. “Sure,” he replied enforcedly, leading her toward the foyer, “this way.”

She loved the house. She loved every living room and every study, every wallpaper and every rug. The secret passageways delighted her but the pool area was her favorite. She insisted that he turned on the lights and waterfall to see it all glitter and shine in the middle of dusk, so he did and she wasn’t disappointed. The bliss in her face was almost tangible with how wide she was smiling, how bright her eyes shone. She immediately kicked her tiny slippers away and sat down on the edge of the pool, dipping her legs in. It was the cutest thing he had ever seen. “Oh, no, the water is so nice,” she sighed in overly exaggerated woe, almost theatrical even, “this is bullshit.” He laughed, taking a seat next to her but keeping his legs on dry ground, folded up to his chest. “If you want to jump in I can get you one of my shorts,” he said around a smile, watching her grin back in reply. “Thank you, that’s exactly what I need.”

They sat around in silence for a while, watching the last dying rays of sunlight reflect on the surface of the pool and dance among the colorful lights surrounding it, traveling through the water, turning Sam’s legs into moving paintings. She touched the tiles with her toes, gently paddling her feet above the underwater staircase and enjoying the feeling of displaced water engulfing her legs. The longer Josh watched her, the more enamored he became with her and all surrounding her. The glint of light in her eyes and the moving reflection of the water on her body, swaying and scintillating across her skin. She was beautiful and, somehow, he got to experience this with her. This moment, where the atmosphere could be felt on the tip of their noses and the smile she wore was brighter than the moon.

“Hey, can I ask you something personal?” She broke the silence once the sun was completely gone and the pool lights were left alone to replace it. He hummed lightly in reply, just above the bubbling sound of the waterfall, just loud enough to hear. She hesitated. She looked off to the extent of the pool, holding her gaze away from him while licking her lips, thinking. Mulling over her words, picking them out carefully. He waited in silence with a drumming heart. “Are you and Jessica... Dating or something?” She finally asked, looking back at him, unreadable. His blood ran cold and yet managed to heat his cheeks up. “Dating? No,” he said and shook his head, hoping to sound collected rather than desperate to undo this idea, “no, we just partnered up for a project once, last week. We’re not into each other.” He gave her a pointed look during the last sentence that failed to break the unreadable blankness from her face. She simply lifted her brows in response, looking surprised but nothing else. He was kinda hoping for more enthusiasm at this information.

“Really? Huh,” her eyes drifted back to the shimmering surface of the pool, blending with its watery color, “everyone thinks you guys have a thing.” He watched her profile closely, frowning at himself. Everyone who? He wondered if Jessica had said some fat lies to cover up their plan or if the people who saw her grinding against him at Chemistry were the ones responsible for this misunderstanding. But still, “everyone who?” Her eyes flicked back to meet his own, this time with a shrug. “Everyone at school,” she answered simply, terribly unbothered by it all, “people talk.” He nodded in reply, feigning having gotten closure, dismissing the urge to throw himself into the pool and will his body to sink to the bottom. He managed out a smile which she replied with one of her own until a loud ringtone bled through her purse, making them both shoot upright in surprise. It was Hannah.

“Hey! Guess where I am,” she gave Josh a sidelong glance while answering the call, followed by a sly smile that got his heart flipping over. A second passed in stillness as they waited for Hannah’s guess, which Josh couldn’t hear, but had Sam smiling. “No, at your place,” she sounded smug, splashing water around with her feet, “hogging your brother to myself. He’s a sweetheart.” Josh smiled to himself at that, turning his face away from her but still eavesdropping. She talked loudly, right by his ear, probably expecting him to. Or at least not minding it. “When are you coming back?... Uh, well, it was supposed to be a surprise. The girls are in a get-together at Emily’s right now and I was gonna invite you but we don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I mean—,” she trailed off absently, watching the water play reflections on her knees. Josh tried not to look at her and instead focus on ignoring the way his heart sunk to the bottom of his chest. No matter how much he knew she wasn’t here for him, it still hurt to have it thrown in his face a second time. God, he was helpless.

“No, I mean we don’t _have_ to, you know? It’s just a lame party like what we do every Thursday afternoon. Don’t feel obligated to show up, it’s no big deal.” She shrugged, glancing off to the side where the waterfall poured down color, lighting up the night. It seemed far noisier at this moment, somehow. “Well, okay. I’ll talk to you when you’re here; it’s rude to answer the phone on a date.” She laughed hearty while flicking her eyes back at him, watching his own widen in response. His face paled, too, but she was either unfazed by or oblivious to it. “I’ll be waiting! Bye-bye.”

Hanging up and tossing the phone back into her purse, she pushed it away from the edge of the pool. “So, what are we doing next?” She asked while leaning back on her hands, looking up at him. He watched her feet move absently in the water and the way that the small waves licked at her knees, not high enough to reach her thighs. The fall and rise of her chest as she breathed and the loose outline of her breasts against her shirt, emphasized now because of her posture. The mess of thick blonde hair up in a big bun and the stray strands that curled down from it, spiraling around itself and framing her face, some even touching the top of her shoulders. She quirked a brow up at him, waiting for a reply. “I know a couple of things we could do,” he said around an unintentional smirk, watching her shiny lips tug into a provocative smile. The glint in her eyes was unchaste. “You’re shameless.” Her smile widened and soon broke into a laugh, which he followed with one of his own to accompany her in the joke, much as he would like it to be otherwise.

They ended up going back inside and watching one of the sequels to the Re-Animator. The original plan was to do both of them but Hannah and Beth got home just as they would start the last one, so it had to be postponed. Beth offered Sam nothing more than a curt greeting before starting off upstairs to her room and Hannah apologized after her, remaining on ground floor with them. She quickly got Emily’s party back into discussion with Sam, stressing to her the desire to attend it, the _need_ to be there, which Sam didn’t seem to reciprocate. In fact, she looked like she wanted nothing to do with it. In order to not hurt Hannah’s feelings, though, she took the request into consideration and the discussion went on. The more they talked and branched off into other subjects, the more Josh started to feel out of place, so he eventually decided to go back to his room. He did so with a quick (and internally tearful) goodbye to Sam before striding upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is your heart a puddle of molten chocolate yet?


	4. Drama Town, USA

It was good while it lasted. No, better than good, it was the closest he had ever been to witnessing perfection in its sharpest sense. It was a hopeless dream to chase but at least he had pursued it and not to a fruitless end, no. Everything he got out of this was more than he could ever wish for and he had Jessica to thank. Jessica and, well, he could allow himself some credit, too. _He_ encouraged Hannah to ally with the cheerleaders and he also befriended Mike, which, if neither had happened, then he would never have gotten Jessica’s attention and everything else that followed in the first place. Sure, she did basically everything but he laid the groundwork for her. At least he’d like to believe so.

It was with a heavy heart that he closed his bedroom door and face-planted on his mattress, groaning vexedly into it. She had been so close to him, right there. They had spent roughly four hours together, cracking jokes and experiencing a movie and, good God, maybe even flirting? His cheeks burned holes on the sheets. It might all have been a joke to her but he was far from laughing at any of it. For four hours. He wondered if she had ever interacted with someone for this long only to forget about them in the next minute. Was he this replaceable? He wished nothing more than the exact opposite of that. An utopia, he knew. A nonexistent Shangri-La.

Maybe not _so_ nonexistent because she approached him next Monday. _She_ came to him, on a day where they had no classes together, just to say hello. Unimaginable and inexplicable, it left him wondering if their casual hallway interaction did actually happen. It kind of felt like the thing with Jessica except graver now, more impactful. Meaningful. Befriending Mike had its perks, he guessed. And quite some perks these were; more life-changing than anything else. If he had known that something this huge could happen with the most basic ass lie in the book, than he’d have done it much earlier. He’d have become Mike’s right arm in the first day of high school. Shit, about that, though. The marching band. Up to this point, he still had no success with them in any way. Beth still stood by her prejudiced opinions and there was nothing he could do for the rest of the band if she wasn’t converted. He _had_ to start with her; she was the strongest link of the group. She spoke the loudest and had the best arguments. She made the more heads so if he could make hers, then his job would be done. He had never actively promised anything to Mike but using him so shamelessly didn’t feel nice—he’d at least _try_ to pay him back. Mike was a cool guy and deserved it.

Maybe not everyone felt the same about him, though, because his locker was absolutely destroyed later in the day. Josh noticed the commotion surrounding it just before lunch. There was a big crowd in a semi-circle around it, blocking up most of that hallway, filling the air with whispers and tweets. Mike stood in the center, gaping wordlessly at the mess that his locker had become: torn up textbooks tossed all over the floor and pieces of notes like confetti over them. Tragic but beautiful, if it wasn’t for the word “cheater” as graffiti on the inside of the door, in big black letters. Written in either a marker or nail polish; Josh wasn’t sure which alternative he liked more.

“Emily, what the Hell?” Mike was absolutely aghast, speaking in a small voice as the cheerleaders emerged from the crowd. All except one. “I know what you’ve been up to, Michael,” his girlfriend said with a threatening step toward him and a tone that squirted venom in his face, “you and that lying slut. Do you think I’m stupid? I spend literally every day with Jessica, of course I know you two went out last weekend; she’s the worst liar I’ve ever met. She’s so dumb. Did you really think she’d keep her mouth shut about you? Did you really think I wouldn’t find out? God, you’re the worst.” Emily had her eyes on fire and teeth lined with iron, impermeable against the viciousness that dripped from her tongue. She crossed her arms, standing tall before her boyfriend, as if he wasn’t easily towering over her. The frown on his face first expressed confusion, then slowly growing anger the more she spat at him. Not only that but he was also incredibly offended. “What?” His tone was a mixture of incredulity and indignation and for as much as he appeared composure, his eyes showed all the hurt. “What the fuck? We just _hung out_ at that party; we didn’t do anything, Em. You’re overreacting. Jess and I are friends. She’s your _best friend_ ; what are you doing?” His voice was almost pleading but she was buying none of it. She clicked her tongue and huffed and the crowd whispered louder around them. Josh wanted to leave.

 He did but his luck was such that the first person he ran into while turning the first corner was the topic of discussion herself. They bumped into each other nearly head-to-head, or rather head-to-chest, but she managed to narrowly avoid slamming her forehead flat against his chin by an inch. The inch that saved his jaw. “Whoa, sorry!” She laughed up at him, clutching her pink binder safely to her chest. She had no idea what was going on twenty feet from here. “It’s alright. Did I hurt you?” He tilted his head to the side, smiling down at her while mock inspecting her face for injuries. She shook her head with a wide smile, patting him on the arm. “No, silly. You’ll need more than that to break this face.” She circled a finger in front of her face, gesturing playfully at it. Her cheeky joy and bright mood squeezed his heart; it’d all be instantly taken away if she went out there, if she saw the fight. Josh didn’t want her to break. “You’re made of a tougher porcelain than you look,” he said innocently, making her slap his arm again, “then maybe you could escort me to the cafeteria? Protect me from the bullies with your strong porcelain face.” She rolled her eyes at his request but took his arm anyway, leading him out toward the double doors in the opposite direction of where the fight was taking place. “Fine, but only because I had a great time last weekend,” she said while taking wide strides down the mostly-empty hallway, oblivious to anything out of the ordinary, “ _and_ I want to know about your weekend. So, how was it? I hope Hannah wasn’t there when I dropped the package.”

Wait, she didn’t know about the tennis practice. Literally none of the cheerleaders did. It was one of Hannah’s strongest passions so the sudden secrecy about it stroke Josh as off-putting. That was weird. “No, she wasn’t home,” he replied simply, watching her smile widen, “lucky timing.” She flung a hand up in the air above her head, cheering in celebration. It made him glad to see that the fight had emptied out the hallways so they were pretty much the only ones here. Jessica was anything but subtle. “Yes! Oh, tell me how it went! I saw that she greeted you earlier, you stud.” She winked playfully at him, pushing him on the side. He just laughed, a little nervous and a lot embarrassed. “Calm down, I’m building up some expectations, you know? Getting her all hyped up and whatever. Have patience, padawan.” What a fat fucking lie. Telling her that he wasn’t after some pussy but after a _girlfriend_ shouldn’t be this mortifying. Jessica would understand. If she truly was after someone else’s man, then she shouldn’t have a thing to say about this. Yet, he lied. He straight-up lied and would stick to it like a moron.

The look Jessica gave him was the most suspicious he had ever seen but it still wasn’t enough to make him come clean. If anything, he was ready to back it up further now, but fortunately for him, she didn’t press on that point and just let it pass. She let him have this. “Boy, I hope it’ll be worth the wait. Chastity isn’t for everyone but I’ll respect what I can.” She lifted a palm up in defense, holding a straight face for a whole second before letting a laugh bubble through. That got him, too. “What about _your_ weekend? How was the party?” He asked just as they started to enter the cafeteria, still arm-in-arm. Despite the general emptiness of the place, the few heads that were present still turned to look at them and ogle blankly at where they met. This is the kind of shit that fueled rumors, he guessed. The untouchables being touched. The smallest of interaction was enough material to get people talking. It made him notice how easy it was to be targeted under the spotlight.

“It was _amazing_ ,” she sighed happily, approaching the queue and falling in place at the very end with him. Their arms remained linked together as she spoke. “We chatted and laughed and danced all night like two lunatics and I loved it. I had such a great time. It really made me feel like my own self, you know? Nobody to boss me around and tell me what to say and where to sit and who to talk to. I was really free and he was there with me.” Her tone became increasingly dreamier to the point she had a smile stuck on her face and her mind drifting off to somewhere else entirely at the last sentence. He didn’t notice right away but he was smiling, too. She was more precious than people gave her credit for.

When she came to, her brows knitted together and she glanced around herself, finally taking in her surroundings. “Wow, where is everyone?” She asked with a face, looking up at him for an answer. He wouldn’t give a satisfactory one to her if he had the chance but the big audience of the fight suddenly came rushing in through the double doors before he could say anything, as if on cue at her question. Emily and the other cheerleaders were in the front, leading the mass across the food court in a beeline for Jessica. She was smiling big and waving at them from the end of the queue without a single clue to the warzone that this place was about to become. Josh could feel his stomach churning in chagrin.

“Hey, girls.” Jessica greeted casually, like an unsuspecting prey. Emily’s eyes bombed her from its sockets. “Don’t you open your mouth to me, you lying whore. I’m not here to talk, I’m just here for a public announcement. You, Jessica, you’re not a cheerleader anymore. You’re a back-stabbing bitch and I’m kicking you out of the team. That’s what you get for fucking my goddamn boyfriend; I thought we were _friends_.” The tone of Emily’s voice was brimming with passion and hurt as she invaded Jessica’s personal space, pushing Josh out of the way to get to her face. Jessica was scowling back at her with eyes that flashed more than just confusion and anger. She looked ready to fight back and keep her ground and Josh wished nothing more than the end of this happenstance. It made him sick. He got pushed into the crowd and was immediately swallowed by it, which he didn’t mind. It made it easier to slip away and out of the premises. He wasn’t hungry anymore, anyway.

The hallway outside was silent. Blissfully, peacefully silent. It was possible to breathe again and stop shaking, stop having to vomit. He was fine. He strolled leisurely around the school, with no real objective in mind, no real destination; just wasting time. Just waiting for the bell ring. Up and down, back and forth, he visited every hallway and glanced at every classroom door until approaching the furthest wing of the building where the different rooms were. He walked over to the science lab where Chris usually was in his free time, intending to make a visit, but ended up across someone else instead. Pushing the glassy door open, he saw Sam. It was quite the surprise because he thought she was present at the fight along with the rest of Emily’s posse. His heart jumped to his throat when her eyes found his. She smiled.

“Hey, Josh,” she said with a playful purr to her voice, leaning on her elbow over the tile counter, “do you come here often?” She had a big textbook open in front of her, underneath her elbow now, peppered with images of birds and leaves. He didn’t know she was into Biology. “Not often enough,” he replied to her, bouncing his brows once while stepping further inside, “I thought you were firing up the fight with everyone else.” Her smile faltered at that and she glanced down at the book before her, shrugging dismissively. He took a seat across from her. “I tried to talk Emily out of it but she wasn’t having it, so I left,” she shrugged again, glancing up at him with a blank stare, “I don’t believe in violence.” Oh. Oh, that was right—she was a pacifist. And he was an idiot. “Right,” he said with an absent nod, desperately searching her eyes for emotions, “long story short, she kicked Jessica out of the team.” That was as far as he knew but the fight probably went further than that. He didn’t care about it too much; Hannah would probably give him a summary of it later anyway. Sam blinked. “Yeah, I know. She thinks Jessica is doing Mike but everyone thinks she’s doing you.”

She was unreadable, emotionless. He didn’t know what she was feeling or what she thought about all of this and it made him anxious. His leg started to bounce. “She’s not fucking me,” his cheeks suddenly fired up at this and he wanted to die, “but I don’t think she’s fucking Mike, either. She likes him but I think that’s just it.” His hands met underneath the table, holding onto each other between his knees as Sam continued to express zero emotion. He didn’t like it. “No, she’s definitely into him. Everyone knows that. The real question is, why do people think you’re in this?” Finally, he saw something. Her brows tugged together for a second and he saw perplexity. He let out a breath. “I don’t know. Probably because a guy and a girl can’t be friends without everyone thinking they’re fucking.” He lifted both brows at her with his point, making her mirror the gesture. She hummed, saying nothing. He felt like he should continue talking, so he did. “You know, I think that’s her business. The world shouldn’t worry about what Jessica’s doing with her life, the world should worry about when we’re gonna watch Beyond Re-Animator.” He folded up his arms and rested them on the counter, leaning over them. Sam smiled big at him.

“Are you asking me out or am I another platonic crush?” Her voice was lined in velvet as she playfully fluttered her eyes at him. It turned his blood into ice and his pulse into nothing. His face pumped lava across his nose but he still managed to hold his composure upright, acting as if his body were behaving regularly. No matter how put he seemed, though, he couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eye while speaking. “I think you know the answer to that.” There was a smile around his words that he didn’t notice until he was done talking and was left smiling to himself, finally looking up at her. Her eyes were as soft as her own smile. She watched him for a second, in silence, before grabbing his face with a hand and leaning over to kiss the side of it. Her lips lit his cheek on fire. “I’ll text you.” She said while still too close to his face, leaving a faint green apple scent behind. The bell ring echoed loudly around the room before he could think of what to say, so she left with her book in one hand and a wave in the other. He just waved back, nonplussed.


	5. Golden Girl

“The only thing I don’t understand,” Hannah said to him later on in the day, after getting home from cheer practice, “is if Mike cheated on her with her best friend, why are they still together? I get it that she was upset to the point of kicking Jessica out of the team but why didn’t she break up with him?” Hannah sighed in hopelessness, sitting next to him on her bed. He was lying above the covers with his head buried in her pink fluffy pillows. “He didn’t, though. That’s the thing, I don’t think he cheated on her. At least not with Jess. Plus, it was one fight. Couples don’t break up because of one fight, especially not Emily’s boyfriends.” He glanced up at her through the frilly corners of the pillowcases,  giving her a look. She frowned. “But they’ve been seeing each other. They’ve been to parties and stuff together without Emily.” Her voice quieted down as she spoke, coming to a stop, possibly realizing its own meaning. Josh considered not saying anything if that was the case but ultimately decided against it. “They’re their own people and can do whatever they want. Emily isn’t the boss of them. Not to mention that they all have the same circle of friends so of course they’re gonna hang around each other.” He shrugged, watching her frown deepen. “So you’re telling me that Emily threw a fit because of nothing?” She sounded incredulous and a little embarrassed, widening her eyes down at him. Embarrassed _for_ Emily. He nodded. “Why would she do that?”

“Because she’s fucked in the head.” He replied simply, making her gape back at him. “Emily is paranoid, haven’t you noticed? She doesn’t trust anyone.” Just as he was done speaking, his phone vibrated violently on his belly, startling him. Hannah just spared it a brief glance, still focused on their conversation, but he was pretty much done with it. He checked his inbox as she spoke. “That can’t be true,” her voice was sent straight to the background of his brain as he opened up the message from a strange number. It was an acorn emoji. Nothing else but a single acorn emoji. He frowned at it. “Is that an acorn?” He typed back in reply to it before glancing back up at Hannah, who was still trying to justify Emily’s temper tantrum. He wasn’t paying attention. “—so she _has_ proof. The picture is all over Instagram.” She said and picked up her phone, probably to show him what she was talking about. His belly vibrated twice before she could do that. “Yes, glad you asked,” the first text said, followed by another that went, “Beyond Re-Animator tomorrow at six, my place. Yes or Hell yes?” He smiled. His heart was doing happy flips as he replied back with, “Hell fucking yes.”

The picture Hannah showed him was nothing important. It held little to no proof of any sort of infidelity on Mike’s part; it literally was just a picture of him smiling at Jessica, both of them standing around at a party. That one party at Ashley’s. It got Josh rolling his eyes, convinced in Emily’s overreaction and the innocence of the other two. He said nothing else to Hannah, though, because she was still in denial, so he’d give her time. Time to think and revalue her choice to believe the press. Or rather, the masses. He patted her head and left her room with an address on his phone screen and a heart three times its original size.

The first friendly face he came across next morning was, ironically enough, Jessica. She wasn’t wearing the cheerleading outfit but rather a pair of skinny jeans and a scoop neck shirt that was probably one size too small, looking perfect on her. She was the kind of person who could pull off anything but Josh couldn’t help noticing that those pants were especially nice on her. She was standing by the hallway wall with a desolate look on her face, directed straight forward. His eyes followed the invisible trail as he approached her, falling on Mike and Emily sucking face forty feet away. Almost disgusting, if the two of them weren’t so good looking. The scene had all of Jessica’s attention so she only noticed Josh when he laid a hand on her shoulder, making her eyes peel off of the two and meet his own instead. She smiled up at him but wasn’t happy. She looked broken.

“Hey, pornstar.” She greeted him lightly, wrapping an arm around his midsection and starting toward the opposite end of where the lovebirds were. He fell in step with her easily, draping one arm across her shoulders as they trotted down the hallway. The looks and whispering that they got while crossing the floor together were really obvious, verging on obnoxious, but Jessica didn’t seem to mind. Either that or she was used to receiving this kind of behavior from people. It kind of pissed Josh off. “Hey, sheriff. How are you doing?” He replied back to her with a brief glance that caught the falter of her smile. He squeezed her closer, planting a real smile on her face. “I’m fine, you know,” she looked up at him, right next to his face but tenderly so, “I’ll be fine. Really.” Her tone was sincere and her eyes were truthful and he saw that she was healing. It brought a tender smile to his face. “I’m glad.”

She had lunch with him, Chris and Ashley later on. They actually had a ton of fun with her there, cracking silly jokes and talking about the Kardashians until somebody snorted juice through their nose. It ended up being Ashley this time; it usually was her with Chris’s jokes, too. Their table was quite a few feet away from the untouchables but still in their view because Josh had the habit of glancing at them every now and then. Normally they were on top of the world with their hilarious remarks and gorgeous acquaintances that made everyone else jealous but this time the aura around them seemed different. It felt like they were acting out normalcy instead of actually living it, like a piece of them was missing. Like the genuine livelihood of their table was present at Josh’s instead, crying at her own jokes. This kind of felt wrong but Josh didn’t really want to fix it. He just gave them a casual glance every other minute, catching Sam pretty much doing the same to his own table. Their eyes met more than once and a series of stupid faces were exchanged until the bell ring redistributed everyone’s attention. As people began to leave their seats, Sam hurried over to his for a visit. A visit that melted his heart a new one.

“Should I get M&Ms or Skittles for tonight?” She spoke around a wide smile bathed in amaranth that got his eyes very openly focused on it. It brought such a nice color to her lips that he wondered how it’d leave his if they kissed right now. “Peanut M&Ms if you want to romance me.” He replied with a coy smile of his own, finally looking up at her eyes. She was playfully glaring at him but her cheeks were lit up, giving away her emotional state. His smile grew confident. “That easy?” She spoke with a raised brow, softening her eyes at him as he shrugged helplessly in reply. There was nothing more straightforward to say than this so he stayed quiet. She grinned.

Chris and the girls were halfway to the cafeteria doors when she got up on her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek again, just as quick and chaste as last time. The contact made his face burst in flames but the kissed spot was cold as ice. It made her smile. “See you at six, cutie.” Her voice echoed back and forth in the expanse of his mind, repeating the last word as she twirled around and strode out, waving at his friends before disappearing into the crowd. He was left absolutely speechless. Chris and Ashley were having trouble keeping themselves from grinning too wide while Jessica was giving him the proudest look he had ever seen. It was almost disconcerting if it wasn’t so flattering. It only made the blush situation worse.

The hours between him and her were the longest and most cruel ones he had ever lived through. His attention span was all over the place, ditching him five minutes into a lecture as his mind drifted back to her, to how much he wanted to see her and the possible scenarios for tonight. So many possibilities, all of them getting him too excited to focus, too excited to wait another full minute until six. It wasn’t any less panicking when the countdown reached zero, though. He could barely believe his watch. His stomach was lighter than air and his head was fuzzy but he managed past them, he managed to drive himself to her address following the GPS without screwing up. The fuzziness doubled when her house finally came into view and realization blossomed in the center of his chest. He was scared. He was paralyzed behind the wheel, gripping it for a moment to steady himself and calm down. Tell himself that he could do this, he could get through with this. This was his _chance_. This was it. He had to be ready.

He wasn’t but he faked confidence all the way across the front yard to the front door, knocking on it before his inner fears did it for him. They patted him on the shoulder during the second that took anyone to answer, making him second-guess himself. There was still time to turn back around and leave without being seen. He could still get out, he could still—she opened the door. She was smiling bright and big and wasted no time in pulling him inside. “You’re just in time, I’m surprised.” She spoke while closing the door and he was a frozen statue. The ice kind at parties, the one that slowly melts and drips all over the food and is a deformed monstrosity by the end. His heart did a backflip. “Were you expecting less of me? I’m hurt, Sammy.” His tone was perfectly normal, betraying his emotional state beautifully. He might have learned a thing or two with Mike after all. She smiled. “You don’t have the reputation of being very committed to anything, you know. Don’t blame me for expecting a delay.” She spoke lightly, taking his hand and starting toward the staircase. Her smile was incandescent and she was still wearing the same lipstick, the one he wanted to kiss off of her earlier. The aspiration remained. “That’s not true; I’m committed to what I care about. It’s just that there isn’t much I do.” He shrugged as they reached the top of the stairs. She gave him an expectant look in reply, saying nothing. He rose a brow at her. “Do I have to be more obvious than this? Should I spell it out for you?” There was a smile in his voice that made him a bit less embarrassed in general. She just laughed.

“I’ll give you a tour later,” she said as they crossed the hallway to the last door, “after my parents leave for dinner. Do you know what that means?” She bounced her brows at him, swinging her bedroom door open. It made his heart forget how to beat for a second. He opened his mouth to answer while stepping inside but closed it immediately after, not trusting himself with it. Not trusting his inability to fuck up. He was in too deep to ruin it all now, so he said nothing. He gave her a clueless shrug instead. She grinned and closed the door. “We can have pizza later.” Her smile was too sweet to be true and oh, my God. He had never been so glad to have just shut up for once in his life.

They watched the movie on her bed. They were so close, practically cuddling and if he could swing an arm around her through the fucking headboard, they’d make it. It didn’t matter, their sides were glued together and her head was resting on his shoulder. Her hair smelled of spearmint and one of her thighs was overlaying his own, drawing her skirt up a bit. It was fair to say that he wasn’t paying too much attention to the movie. Their hands were interlaced, too, and she swiped a thumb over his skin every now and again, and he pressed his cheek to the top of her head, and the movie fell into background noise. He was consumed by spearmint but he didn’t mind. He actually liked it.

The room got darker as the credits began to roll. She stretched beside him. “That ending was so much better,” she said before hopping off the bed and brushing a hand down her skirt. She looked like she was going to complement that thought but got suddenly reminded of something else halfway. “Oh, I forgot the M&Ms.” She spoke with a mental slap, stepping over to the TV set and picking up a plastic bag from the spot next to it. She drew a big M&Ms bag from it and tossed it over to him. The catch was messy but successful, much like his grin. “There, have your peanuts. Did I buy your affection yet?” She spoke around a sassy smile, crawling across the mattress over to him. He ripped the bag open with a nod. “Absolutely. Do you want the prize now or later?” He bounced his brows once while offering her the first peanut of the bunch. She frowned at it, accepting with reluctance. “What’s the prize?” Her voice was slow and skeptical, accompanied with a playful glare. She didn’t eat the peanut. “It’s not the peanut,” he said. She glanced at it before looking back up at him, still not eating it. “Then I want it now.”

It actually took no effort to lean over and kiss her. Their lips met softly, they were a perfect fit, and lingered together. She touched his face when they parted, pulling him back for another. Two, three. Her lipstick tasted like cherry and her skin felt like silk. They tugged and pulled at each other’s lips, breathing each other in. She embedded him in cheery spearmint and he loved every second of it. Her hands grabbed his face and his lost themselves in her hair and they drew closer, their knees touched. She sighed in his mouth before breaking apart.

 Her watery green eyes met his dark ones as they breathed in deeply. In silence, she smiled. Happy and genuine and simple. He was glad to reciprocate on the exact same note. “That’s a fine prize.” She said with a short laugh, rubbing a thumb on the corner of his lips. His smile doubled—she was barely wearing any lipstick at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


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